The bottom Wrigley line

The CBC's John F. Molinaro took note of an astute comment made by Red Wings goaltender Ty Conklin during his conference call with the league's media, noting that the Wings won't get caught up in the pageantry of the Winter Classic II for a simple reason:

December 30, CBC Sports: "I think what gets lost a lot of times [with the NHL's outdoor games] is that there's actually two points available. Chicago is not far behind us right now," Conklin warned. "They are not far back, and they are playing as good as anybody these days. That's going to be an important game, and it's going to be an important two points, too."

Conklin adds: "I think it might have got lost a little bit in Edmonton, just because it was so new and so much was made out of it. I think those two points were a little bit closer on everybody's mind when we played Buffalo last year."